[pat5150]

Hi guys,

Haruki Murakami's After Dark is more novella than novel. Indeed, the US edition weighs in at only 191 pages. I was a bit put off by its length, to tell you the truth, yet I discovered that the book is as long as it needs to be. Murakami's tale draws you in and won't let go, and soon the number of pages becomes meaningless.

This magical realism story is an intimate narrative that follows the interwoven storylines between a number of disparate characters.

In this flawless translation, Haruki Murakami's impeccable, evocative prose expounds on the different states of loneliness.

The dialogues, even when they appear innocuous, show a lot of insight, while the deep and more thoughtful conversations are a delight.

Still, it's the atmosphere created by the author which makes After Dark a special read. The ambience is sublime, as if the night became a character in its own right. The darkness becomes a time of revelations, a period of transition in the lives of the cast.

Check out the blog for the full review!

Patrick

[tiam]

Just finshed shield of Thunder by Gemmel. Not as awe inspiring as the Lord of the Silver Bow but still a good read.

[Tiste Simeon]

tiam said:

Just finshed shield of Thunder by Gemmel. Not as awe inspiring as the Lord of the Silver Bow but still a good read.

I agree. Thing is, his wife is apparently finishing off the third one in the series, seen as he died and all... So I don't think the third one will be that good at all...

[Obdigore]

Lord of the Silent Kingdom - Glen Cook.

I like this series more than his Black Company stuff, although i have been unable to find any of the last half of the BC series here in the states.

[caladanbrood]

Neal Asher's Polity Agent. I love Asher's stuff, and this one is no exception so far:)

[Astra]

Obdigore;194223 said:

I like this series more than his Black Company stuff, although i have been unable to find any of the last half of the BC series here in the states.

Are you sure?
I just have had a quick look at amazon.com and found the last 4 out of 5:
http://www.amazon.com/Soldiers-Live-Chroni...1829902&sr=1-10
http://www.amazon.com/Water-Sleeps-Novel-C...1830281&sr=1-49
http://www.amazon.com/Bleak-Seasons-Chroni...81830496&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/Dreams-Steel-Fifth-C...81829902&sr=1-7


there is a problem with She Is The Darkness in the UK as well.

[Obdigore]

Astra,

I was just looking through my local bookstores, don't like the series enough to pay extra for S&H . I can get them special ordered too, but its the same price. I guess I should have said 'places around here don't carry them, and right now I am too cheap to order them.' ;P

[Astra]

Oh I see.
I think you can get free shipping though if you order all of them together

[tiam]

Tiste Simeon;194219 said:

I agree. Thing is, his wife is apparently finishing off the third one in the series, seen as he died and all... So I don't think the third one will be that good at all...

Yeh i know. Still, its better than not knowing what happened.

*looks round and sees Troy on DVD

[Astra]

Almost finished The Tombs of Atuan (book 2 Earthsea).
It is an improvement over A Wizard of Earthsea. awoe was almost boring. However, reading about Ged a very familiar feeling do not leave me, the same feeling I had when I read The Dark Elf trilogy. I feel safe about Ged. Nothing terribly bad will happen to him (well probably wont, I don't know for sure). I don't want him to die but there is not enough tension for me. Maybe it was written for children and I am too old for it. Though the second book is better than the first one. Hopefully The Farthest Shore will be even better

[Falcdragon]

Just finished reading Tad Williams "The Dragonbone Chair" hopefully the series ends well, as didn't think to much of the ending of his Otherland series. Also previous to that finished Ken MacLeod's Engines of light trilogy which was rather impressive.

Trying to find books by James Barclay and Neal Asher to read unfortunately the local library doesn't have many copies of either of there books so taking a while. May have to end up buy them.

[Flawed]

@ Falcdragon

The series is ok. It was a while ago that i read it. Seoman? White slash of hair? Think so. Quite heavy though.

Your signature brings me to what im reading now.

Knife of Dreams. Robert Jordan. Sure its a re read. I only picked it up again as i finished Reapers and Night of Knives. Im waiting on Blood Follows to turn up on my door and im wasting time with old RJ.

Its a drawn out series to be sure and he has left an awful lot to be done in the last book but i like Matt he makes me laugh and im ok with that.

Ramble over

[caladanbrood]

Alan Campbell's Scar Night - not as good so far as I'd been led to believe, but enjoyable, I suppose.

[pat5150]

I was really curious about this final volume of The Soldier Son trilogy. With both Shaman's Crossing and Forest Mage garnering so many mixed reviews, I was eager to see how Hobb would bring this series to a close with Renegade's Magic.

Renegade's Magic is easily the best and most enjoyable volume of The Soldier Son trilogy. One of the main reasons why is that, unlike its two predecessors, this book doesn't suffer from a sluggish pace. The narrative flows extremely well, providing a fluid rhythm throughout the novel.

As always, the characterizations are superior. The deeply involved humanity behind it all, Hobb's hallmark, is imbued throughout Renegade's Magic. Three-dimensional characters populate this book, and they all remain true to themselves. This aspect of her characterization is probably what I love the most about Robin Hobb. Her cast always include men and women who feel like "real" people with genuine personalities, good or bad or in between.

Hobb ties up a lot of loose ends from both Shaman's Crossing and Forest Mage, with almost everything coming full circle. In a way, this just might be Hobb's most self-contained series. Many things make more sense now, giving me a new appreciation for the first two volumes.

Check the blog for the full review.

Patrick

[rlfcl]

re-reading Cat's Cradle, because it's really just a awesome book.

[Gothos]

re-reading Herbert's Dune series. in quite the odd order, starting from #4, then #3, now #1, then #2 and #6 - can't find my Heretics of Dune anywhere tho :-(

[Astra]

pat5150;196678 said:

Renegade's Magic is easily the best and most enjoyable volume of The Soldier Son trilogy.

In a way, this just might be Hobb's most self-contained series. Many things make more sense now, giving me a new appreciation for the first two volumes.


Patrick

Cool!

I am looking forward to reading this trilogy!

Thanks

[pat5150]

Just finished David Bilsborough's The Wanderer's Tale. . .

Two thumbs WAY down for this book, unfortunately.

An odd blend of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Sword of Shannara, and various Forgotten Realms books from the late 80s, Bilsborough's The Wanderer's Tale is YA through and through. Pitched to the Paolini crowd, I sincerely believe that this debut has the potential to be a bestseller. But pitched to well-read fans and aficionados of the genre, this book falls short on basically every level.

To say that this novel is overwritten would be the understatement of the year. Cutting 25% to 30% of it would get rid of a good chunk of the bloated prose and speed up the pace which leaves a lot to be desired. There seems to be at least one adverb per sentence -- I kid you not!

Overwritten, overlong, overhyped. . .

Check the blog for the full review.

Patrick

[Giles]

I'm reading the anita blake series by laurell K Hamilton at the moment. have got to book 8 in a week as the books are short but ive seen bad reviews of the rest so im wondering wether to carry on.

[amphibian]

I stopped by my local library to pick up more Harlan Ellison books, when I saw David Zindell's The Lightstone prominently displayed on the "New Arrivals" shelf. It had a terrible cover, but it also had a blurb from Gene Wolfe on it. I'm a big fan of Wolfe, so I gave the book a try.

Awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful. I read the whole thing in an attempt at fairness and by the end I was actively pissed at the time I'd just wasted.

Do not buy this. Do not borrow this. Do not read it. It is an attempt at improving The Wheel of Time series by combining it with the Lord of the Rings books. That attempt fails miserably. The concepts are trite, the characters poorly presented and the story takes far too long to get moving.

Stupid blurb.